The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) has signed a contract for a loan worth JPY 10.7bn, in order to fund the automatic control projects of the electricity distribution companies of Alexandria, north of Delta, and north of Cairo.
Sources in the EEHC told Daily News Egypt that the first portion of the loan will be paid next week, and according to the agreement, JICA will pay the specified amount to the EEHC on three portions, and the repayment period will be 30 years with a 10-year grace period and an interest of 0.01%.
The sources said that there is a contract signed with a Japanese consultant office (Tabasco) in alliance with the Modern Systems Engineering company affiliated to the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, in order to put forward the specifications and technical standards of the project.
The function of the automated control centres will be following up and monitoring the medium-voltage network, amending any network related data, as well as monitoring the operation data and storing them, in addition to giving warnings in case of any rise in the current or a fall in voltage and detecting damage.
Issuing the various technical reports of the network is also a part of the automated control centres’ functions. The centres would also be training places for control engineers and the activation of the practical role of geographic information system.
El-Husseiny El-Far, the full-time member of electricity distribution companies in the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, said that one of the priorities of the sector at the present time is implementing of the development plan, updating distribution companies and the necessary control centres to accommodate the added capacities from new projects, and increasing the quality of services offered to consumers.
He pointed out that 10 companies have expressed their desire to implement and develop the control centres. Some of these companies include Siemens, General Electric (GE), and Huawei.
The Ministry of Electricity aims to qualify, develop, and expand electricity companies across the country within two weeks based on the directions of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, in order to enable the electricity sector to continue providing electricity without problems.
